A Bitter Feast(69)

“Mum!” Melody cut her off, shocked. “Don’t be silly. That’s not like you at all. I might as well hold myself responsible because I invited them.”

“I suppose you’re right, darling.” Addie sighed. “I just feel a bit like the thing that started the dominoes falling.”

“You have certainly never been described by anyone as a thing,” Melody said, laughing, and earned a rueful smile in return. “Come on, then—”

The doorbell rang, startling them both.

“Who the hell?” grumbled Melody. Neither Gemma nor Duncan had keys, but the front door had been purposely left off the latch for them. Perhaps Roz had forgotten. “I’ll get it,” she said, starting for the hall, but Addie followed her nevertheless.

“I’m so sorry,” Melody said as she opened the door. “Did you get locked—”

The words dried up. Neither Gemma nor Duncan stood on the porch. Gaping, she looked into Andy Monahan’s very blue eyes.



As Gemma and Kincaid walked back into the small dining room, she could tell that the discussion among the chefs was getting more heated. Kincaid went to speak to Booth, while Gemma saw that Kit had apparently fetched a bowl of water for Bella from the kitchen, and now knelt beside the dog as she drank, listening intently to the conversation.

“We can’t,” Viv was saying. “We just can’t. It’s disrespectful. What would people think?”

“What are people going to think when they start turning up at noon for the Sunday lunches they’ve booked, and they haven’t even had a phone call telling them their reservation is canceled?” argued Ibby.

“That doesn’t matter.” Viv sounded near to tears again.

“It does, actually,” Angelica put in, quietly. “The locals will have to be told about Jack, whether it’s today or tomorrow. But we have tourists and people from outside that are only going to know that their day is ruined. And what are we going to do, otherwise? Sit in the kitchen while the food spoils? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be working.”

Gemma jumped as Bea spoke from behind her shoulder. “Angelica’s right. We’ve got people already pulling into the car park. We can’t just turn them away,” Bea continued as she joined the group. “Sarah and the rest of the servers are here. Sarah is manning the car park until we can get ourselves sorted out in here. Viv?”

“But we can’t just—” Viv shook her head. “What about Grace?”

“I’ve got her settled on the sofa with a duvet and a video. I’ll check on her in a few minutes.”

Bea, Gemma decided, was the sort of person who met a crisis with action.

“But what about the bar?” said Viv. “We can’t pull anyone out of the dining rooms—”

“I can mind the bar,” put in Ibby. “Angie’s right. We can’t just sit here all day. We’d go spare. But you’ll be shorthanded in the kitchen.”

Kit had stood up. “I can help.”

“Would you?” Viv gave him a grateful look, then glanced at Gemma. “If it’s all right with your mum, we might be able to manage with an extra hand.”

“Of course, that’s fine, if Kit wants to help. And I’m glad to do whatever I can, as well.”

“But you’ll have to take Bella if I help out,” he said. “I can’t have her in the kitchen. You will watch out for her, won’t you?” he added, with a return of the worried frown he’d worn earlier.

“Of course I will,” Gemma assured him, but before she could ask what was bothering him, the chefs, having made a decision, whisked him off to the kitchen, and Gemma was left, quite literally, holding the dog.

When Bella whined after Kit, Gemma reassured her, then took her over to Kincaid and Booth. “They’re going to open,” she told them. “And we need to find a place to talk.”



Roz escaped into the forecourt at Beck House and walked fast up the drive until she reached the road. There, she stopped and drew a shaky breath.

She’d been about to walk into the kitchen when she’d heard Melody mention Joe’s name. Hardly daring to breathe, she’d listened until Addie had called out for her, then waited a moment to enter, a smile pasted on her face. Dear God, she’d never dreamed that Joe would be stupid enough to ask questions about Fergus of Melody, of all people. What else had he told her? She considered going back to confront him now, but someone might see her and she didn’t want to chat.

Hunching her shoulders, she started up the road towards her cottage. The sound of a car coming up the lane made her look back, but all she saw was the flash of tail lamps as a car turned into the Beck House drive. Roz shrugged and continued up the hill. Not her problem, whomever it was.

As she reached the high point of the village, a flock of black birds rose from the churchyard, wheeled in the air above her, then settled on the power wires, their voices raucous and mocking. They might have been laughing at her.

As well they might. She meant to go home and erase any trace that Fergus O’Reilly had ever entered her life.

And then she was going to deal with Joe.



“Andy, what are you doing here?” Melody managed to gasp when her tongue had unlocked itself.